Israel Active

Ayala Shapira, granddaughter of my shul’s warden, was released from hospital for a week of Bat Mitzvah celebrations. Ayala was severely burnt when Palestinian Arab terrorists through firebombs at her Dad’s car in December. Her Bat Mitzvah included a family visit to Temple Mount.

The International Military Group report to the UN stated that, in Gaza, Israel exceeded the standard laws of armed conflict. And another expert, Michael Schmitt, Director of the Stockton Center for the Study for International Law at the US Naval War College, said “People are going to start thinking that the United States and other Western democracies should follow the same examples in different types of conflict. That’s a real risk”.

Israel’s President Rivlin distributed inaugural Jerusalem Unity Prize awards to individuals and organizations that contribute to unity among Jewish communities and Israeli society. Unity Day and the awards were in honor of murdered Jewish teens Gilad Shaer, Eyal Yifrach, and Naftali Frenkel.

A Chabad poster attached to balloons drifted from Israel into Lebanon. Members of the terrorist organization Hezbollah were seen holding up a banner displaying “We Want Moshiach Now”.

Nir Barkat, Mayor of Jerusalem, used his hands-on approach once again to restore peace in the capital when he broke up a traffic-related street fight while pedaling on his bicycle to work. He separated two men who were hitting each other, and then waited until police arrived. In Feb, Mayor Barkat tackled an Arab terrorist who had stabbed a bystander near Jerusalem’s City Hall.

The Polish Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus was launched at the Polish parliament (Sejm) in Warsaw. An Israeli delegation from the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and the World Jewish Congress met senior Sejm members to build on shared Judeo-Christian values.

At least 100,000 people lined both sides of Fifth Avenue to watch 40,000 Israel Day Parade marchers make their way up the famous avenue from 57th Street to 74th Street.

National Hebrew Book Week takes place 11-21 June, with large outdoor book fairs, special Book Week sales at bookstores all around the country, and a variety of accompanying events such as music, performances, children's events, workshops, and storytelling.

Freja Berggren studies at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. She writes her reflections as a non-Jewish Swedish student in Israel. It is certainly not what she expected from International media coverage.

A record 1500 young French Jews will be arriving to Israel this summer on the Taglit-Birthright Israel program to learn about the Jewish state and their Jewish heritage. This compares to only 83 in 2013 and 940 in 2014.